The Pre-China Bucket List.

A month from today, we'll be in China.

It's unreal.

So, besides the boring packing/selling/storage of our stuff that has to happen in the next two weeks (oh, and you know, getting our visas and important things like that), we have lots on our bucket list and no days to spare.

The Abbreviated List:

kayaking in the Back Bay (again)

Disneyland (although there's always one in Hong Kong if we don't make the original)

homemade salted caramel ice cream

beach camping at San Onofre

brunch at Plum's

dinner at Bouchon (or at least some extra-large macarons from their Bakery)

sushi at Nanasan and/or Sugarfish

the drive-in movie theater

the truffle burger at Umami Burger

Pizza Port

bonfire at CDM

walking food tour of Laguna Beach

sunset happy hour at K'ya's rooftop lounge

Drybar/Manhattan Beach

Yo-Yo Ma at the Hollywood Bowl

And a couple things we've checked off:

times moves too quickly, but we plan on maxing out our California time while we can.

This is my summer.

I should be working on my mini lesson plan right now, but I'm not, mostly because I'm depressed at the amount of schoolwork I have before our impending move.

School has taken over my life.

I shouldn't complain because I signed up for a one-year program, but...

Am I allowed to say that group work is the bane of my existence?

That working from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 7 a.m. to midnight is a horrible summer schedule.

That projects over the weekend kill my soul?

I'm feeling so out of balance.

I started off the summer waking up at 6:30a to go on a run with Winston, make a healthy breakfast, and sip coffee on the patio before class. And now? I wake up at 5a to drink a gallon of coffee while feverishly working on assignments and simultaneously trying to get my brain to function. If I'm lucky, I have time for some cereal before I run out the door.

Oh, and our apartment has to be packed up and empty in two weeks. TWO. 

And what do I have packed? A box (small) of books.

Rant complete.

It doesn't sound like it right now, but I really do have a lot to be thankful for.

I'll have good things to say later.

For now, I'm off to go teach fake students how to express themselves.

Three years.

Three years of marriage has gone by so fast! Since we'll be spending most of our next year in China, I'm especially glad that we got to spend extra time in the area. We had the best time celebrating our anniversary at the Highland Springs Resort (Cherry Valley, CA). Even though throughout this weekend I was waking up early and staying up late working a presentation for grad school, the whole weekend was so relaxing. I felt like we had stumbled upon a rustic oasis in the middle of nowhere. Our little cottage room was simple (no TV, no blowdryer), but it was so refreshing and felt like we were finally disconnected from the city. The lavender festival was going on at the same time, so we sipped lavender margs (I could drink those all day long), lavender lattes, and lavender lemonade while listening to live classical music, ate lavender-marinated brisket on the tree-surrounded picnic tables, and I even rewarded my hard school work with a scoop of lavender-honey ice cream. We woke up early to stroll through the lavender fields, brunched on pastries and coffee in the bar overlooking the fields, lounged poolside, and had filet mignon and cake ordered from Martha Green's (some of the best cake you'll ever have). I still can't believe that Highland Springs is only 30 minutes away from my hometown, and I had never known about it. This place will definitely be added to our list of local favorites. 

Happy weekend!

We're spending our pre-anniversary weekend at the Highland Springs Resort in Cherry Valley! I love it here. It's like a rustic lavender oasis. In a couple hours, the annual lavender festival will begin. We'll have more pictures later, but for now, happy weekend! Xoxo.

our fur baby is back!

The little guy was staying with Grandpa and Grandma (yes, we are that serious about his fur child-ness) while we were travelling. But now we have him back home! And we can't get enough of these kisses.

seven years.

Three years ago, I graduated from UCLA. I worked there and continued to take classes (Chinese) through this year. I left work just a week ago and took my last Chinese final today. For seven years, UCLA has been my home. It's where I grew up and met my husband and made my best friends. It's where I cried and learned and changed. It's strange that the next thing is happening so quickly. 

This week has been a whirlwind week, heading straight from the end of work, to class, to a flight to Michigan, to home to start grad school work and study for my final. Tomorrow is orientation day, and I feel like I haven't really had time to process. Or clean out my closet. Or make salted caramel ice cream. Or plan a picnic at the park. When I'm not working or studying, I'm paralyzed by how much there is to do and see and experience in the next two months. I have a feeling this summer is going to be hard. Not just a challenging-busy kind of hard, but a being-away-from-my-friends kind of hard, a how-am-i-going-to-fit-everything-in kind of hard, a this-is-all-happening-so-fast kind kind of hard. 

books, lately.

One of my goals for the past year and a half has been to read a book a month. Lately, I've found myself reading more. Not because I have more time, but because I need a break from the other work/reading I've been doing. My list, of late:

• The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. The '20s is one of my favorite time periods to read about, and Fitzgerald will always be my favorite. This book got me back into that groove, and I started reading Hemingway's A Moveable Feast, from which many of the book's details come.
• 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. This was another book club selection. I thought the writing was too colloquial at times, but there were some gems in this. Definitely relevant.
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova. This was a fast read. Fascinating for anyone interested in learning more about early-onset Alzheimer's.
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I loved this book. My friend, Karli, suggested it, and when we didn't read it for our book club, I put in on hold at the library. After I got it, it took me two days to read it all. I read it while I was waiting for the pasta water to heat and on my breaks at work. It's just a really good story, heartbreaking at times, but memorable. I'm buying a copy for my momma. 

On the list of books to finish and read:

1. Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.
2. Peter Hessler's River Town.
3. Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef.
4. Amor Towles' Rules of Civility: A Novel.

What are you reading? Any book recommendations?

[photo via my instagram]